Focus Interview | Good Water Small and Micro Wetlands Raised | Large Energy Wetlands | Ecology | Energy

Wetlands have water as their soul, abundant water and grass, and abundant ecology. Together with forests and oceans, they are known as the three major ecosystems on Earth.

Xingshen Village is a mountain village in Liangping, Chongqing. The mountains here are dense bamboo forests, and there are abundant gypsum mines in the mountains. Relying on the mountains and eating the mountains, Hunter God Village is rich due to gypsum mines, and the village collective annual income is also over a million, but it is all spent on repair and upkeep.

Chen Zongshou, Secretary of the Party Branch of Xingshen Village, Zhushan Town, Liangping District, Chongqing: Our village cadres cannot sleep at night. He fired a cannon at night, and today the people's tiles broke a few pieces. Call me immediately. Which house has problems? We need to find ways to reinforce and repair it. The house is tilted, geological collapse, the river is dry, and the road is cracked.

Mining has caused serious ecological problems. In 2017, Liangping District closed five gypsum mines in Xingshen Village, designated ecological protection areas, and carried out ecological restoration in the mining area. At first, the villagers chose to plant large trees, flowers and grass, build gardens, and dig fish ponds, including sewage pipes. The cost was over 14 million yuan, which is not only expensive but may also cause secondary ecological damage.

An ancient mountain village with its natural ecological texture, mountains, streams, terraced fields, and ponds are all masterpieces of the ancestors who respected and followed nature. Although some parts have been damaged due to mining and land reclamation, with some simple engineering treatments, the original appearance can be restored.

The entire ecological restoration project, including the village's sewage collection and treatment system, only cost 4 million yuan. Respect nature and you will receive abundant gifts from it. In just three years after the completion of the project, nature returned a small wetland community with diverse ecology, good water quality, and unique scenery to Hunter God Village. The villagers rely on the different scenery of small and micro wetlands and the hundred mile bamboo sea on the mountain to create boutique homestays in their own courtyards, attracting a large number of tourists.

Back in the days of mining, I earned an annual income of four to five hundred thousand yuan. Now, as a homestay, I earn over 300000 yuan. Although his income has decreased slightly, Chen Wanming's heart has calmed down a lot. He no longer has to worry about risks or face disheartened.

The restoration of wetlands and the restoration of ecological texture have given Liangping people a taste of sweetness, gradually forming a new idea of "comprehensive water management and wetland moistening the city". The per capita water resources in Liangping only reach 61% of the national average, making it a typical hilly and water scarce area. Although lacking in water, Liangping has 800000 acres of rice fields, making it a major grain and agricultural product producing area in Chongqing. All along, the people of Liangping have been managing water to preserve and utilize it, but now, we also need to make the water clear and make it live.

Shuanggui Lake is a freshwater lake located adjacent to the main urban area of Liangping. At the end of the last century, intensive aquaculture was prevalent in the lake, coupled with the discharge of upstream domestic sewage, which led to the sedimentation of sediment at the bottom of the lake in the reservoir area and the deterioration of water quality. In 2006, fish farming was completely banned in Shuanggui Lake, but the water quality has been difficult to improve.

Since 2016, Shuanggui Lake has started water management throughout the entire basin. Sewage collection and treatment facilities have been built around the lake to prevent a single drop of sewage from flowing into the lake area. At the same time, relying on the original shoreline topography, small and micro wetland ecosystems will be constructed and restored along the lake.

There is no construction of slope protection along the coast of Shuanggui Lake, but it follows the principle of wildness, which is to conform to nature, respect nature, and let mountains, rivers, forests, fields, lakes, and grasses return to nature. Water management not only requires making water clean, but also making it flow and live. Through the regulation of biodiversity, water can be nurtured and natural ecology can be restored. A filthy place, without any trace. The growth environment of water hyacinth requires good water quality and is a mirror of the water environment, so it is also called water mirror grass.

Tang Hong, Director of the Wetland Protection Center in Liangping District, Chongqing: It is a plant with deep floating leaves that provides a habitat for birds. Fish in the water need to lay eggs, and seaweed provides a place for them to implant.

The restoration of wetlands brings good ecology. So, can wetlands play an important role in ecological protection while also generating economic and social benefits? Liang Ping's relevant departments have started writing articles on small and micro wetlands.

Chuanxi Village is a well-known fishing and aquaculture village, with almost every household having fish ponds. Luo Xiaohong studied aquaculture at university and returned to his hometown to start a business in 2011. In the past, aquaculture was actually a highly polluting industry. Because it is a stagnant pond with high aquaculture density, fish feed is added daily, and the content of ammonia nitrogen and nitrite in the water is very high, especially in the sediment of the fish pond. Water cannot be discharged externally, and sediment cannot be transported externally, otherwise it may affect the water quality of the surrounding areas. Therefore, fisheries and aquaculture have always been a key regulatory object of the environmental protection department. In the past two years, under the guidance of government departments, every household has built a small and micro wetland circulation system by utilizing ponds that used to store silt.

This small wetland covers an area of three acres, but it is a hierarchical purification system. Every two weeks or so, Luo Xiaohong will bring the purified water back to the fish pond for recycling. The stagnant water of the past has now come to life.

The change in water quality has increased production, updated the aquaculture structure, increased product value, and also made the previously unusable fish ponds for storing silt have ecological value. The small and micro wetlands of every household also enhance the appearance of the village. Chuanxi Village has also developed a "fishing, cultural and tourism" industry, making it a great place to eat fish and enjoy flowers.

In recent years, Liangping has built wetland continuous bodies in cities and streets, and small and micro wetland life communities in rural areas. Wetlands not only play an important role in ecology, but also continuously release ecological dividends, achieving green transformation of production and life, and seeing economic benefits.

Xie Baoxiang fell and injured his leg while working a few days ago, but whenever a customer comes, he will personally go to the ground to introduce his pollution-free organic products. Xie Baoxiang contracted 180 acres of rice fields and carried out ecological aquaculture of organic rice, rice shrimp, and rice fish.

Liangping has 800000 acres of rice fields and has always adopted traditional farming methods in the past. In recent years, due to wetland construction, the water quality in Liangping has significantly improved, and many people have taken notice of the good ecological environment here and started to engage in organic agriculture.

The sky is blue and the water is clean, and a good ecology nurtures good prospects. In China, compared to forests and oceans, wetlands are the most widely distributed and closely connected ecosystem with urban and rural areas. Over the past decade, the protection and restoration of wetlands have been continuously releasing ecological dividends, benefiting cities and rural areas.

Bao Daming, a first level inspector of the Wetland Management Department of the State Forestry and Grassland Administration, said: The reason why small and micro wetlands are important is because they have many patches. There may be more than 30 million patches in China, and they have a very close relationship with people. The Wetland Protection Law also encourages the rational use of wetlands, protects their ecological functions, and enables them to achieve sustainable use, in order to achieve the unity of ecological, economic, and social benefits.

China's wetland area is 56.35 million hectares, ranking first in Asia and fourth in the world. In the past decade, China has added and restored over 800000 hectares of wetlands, including 82 internationally important wetlands, 29 nationally important wetlands, and 13 international wetland cities. The results were not easy to come by. In the future, China will be more effective in promoting the high-quality development of wetland protection and helping to build a modern harmonious coexistence between humans and nature.

Editor | Wang Jianfeng

Camera | Lv Shaobo

Editing | Zhang Wenqing